A major display of personal items, original manuscripts and works of art to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charlotte Brontë, author of Jane Eyre, will open at the National Portrait Gallery early next year.
Celebrating Charlotte Brontë 1816-1855, (22 February – 14 August 2016) explores the author’s life, creative development and professional success. It will include portraits from the Gallery’s Collection and 26 items from the Brontë Parsonage Museum, birthplace and home of Charlotte and her family. It will also be one of the museum’s largest ever loans, some of which have never previously been seen.
Among the treasures are paintings and drawings by Charlotte, letters and journals, the famous ‘little books’ created by the Brontë sisters as children including the first book Charlotte ever made, a pair of cloth ankle boots worn by Charlotte and first editions of Jane Eyre, her first published novel, which enjoyed immediate and enduring popularity as well as Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography, Life of Charlotte Brontë.
Central to the display will be the presentation of new research into the only surviving painted portraits of Charlotte with her two sisters, Emily and Anne, by their brother Branwell, in the Gallery’s Collection. This will explore the intriguing story of its discovery folded on top of a wardrobe, subsequent acquisition by the Gallery and its restoration.
The display will also include works from the Gallery’s Collection including the chalk drawings of Charlotte and her friend and first biographer Elizabeth Gaskell by George Richmond, alongside portraits of Charlotte Brontë’s heroes and associates such as the Duke of Wellington, poet Lord Byron and novelist William Thackeray.Celebrating Charlotte Brontë 1816-1855 is curated by the National Portrait Gallery’s Associate Curator Rosie Broadley, assisted by Lucy Wood, Assistant Curator.

The painting is now undergoing scientific testing to tell the true story behind how the painting was constructed, and give fans of Charlotte Brontë a deeper insight into her home life.
'The pillar was added in at an early stage, so it appears he painted himself over'
A study of paintwork, which allowed experts to date different part of the portrait, has shown Branwell only made the briefest of sketches of himself, and did not begin painting his skintone at all.
The pillar is now believed to have been painted on immediately by Branwell, likely as an artistic decision, rather than seeing him covered up at a later date.
By February, when the exhibition opens, curators hope to use the latest technology to show what the original image looked like in its most detail yet, and tell the full story of how it came to the public eye.
A spokesman said: “Central to the display will be the presentation of new research into the only surviving painted portraits of Charlotte with her two sisters, Emily and Anne, by their brother Branwell, in the Gallery’s Collection.
“This will explore the intriguing story of its discovery folded on top of a wardrobe, subsequent acquisition by the Gallery and its restoration.”
Lucy Wood, assistant curator of the exhibition, said latest research had shown there was no sign of “flesh paint” under the pillar, adding: “It appears that he was only ever loosely sketched and never fully painted up.
“The pillar was added in at an early stage, so it appears he painted himself over.”
The painting will go on display alongside dozens of items loaned from the Bronte Parsonage Museum, home of Charlotte and her siblings.
It includes paintings and drawings by Charlotte, letters and journals, the famous ‘little books’ created by the Brontë sisters as children and the first book Charlotte ever made.
'It is the iconic portrait of the Brontes and anything more we can learn about it is obviously of great interest'
Other items include a pair of cloth ankle boots worn by Charlotte, first editions of Jane Eyre, chalk drawings of the author and Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography, Life of Charlotte Brontë.Ms Wood said: “This rare chance to see the only painted portrait of Charlotte Brontë alongside illuminating personal treasures from the Brontë Parsonage Museum provides a fascinating opportunity to celebrate her life and remarkable achievements as one of the most celebrated authors of the 19th century.
“It will enable visitors to learn more about her private life, her influences and come away with a real sense of who she was.”
Juliet Barker, former curator of the Bronte Parsonage Museum, biographer and author of the forthcoming The Brontës: A Life in Letters, said the image of Branwell is already well-known, but said new techniques may allow experts to uncover more. (Hannah Furness)

Nouse reviews the Jane Eyre production still performed at the National Theatre:

This theatrical creation was outstanding; there was endless energy, enthusiasm and emotion throughout, and certainly left most of those around me speechless when the curtain fell at the end of the performance. A truly fantastic production of incredible professional exuberance, and one to not be missed. (Emily McDonnell)

Biographies and history books are always big winners at Christmas ... if you know your recipient loves the subject, it's not a massive gamble to assume they will love a book on it, too.
Gill Hart, bookseller at Lindum Books in the Bailgate, Lincoln, says: "Claire Harman's new Charlotte Brontë biography is going to be very popular this year I think. I know this one is on Sasha Drennan – owner of Lindum Books – Christmas list as well."

Meri Aashiqui Tumse Hi: As the title suggests, this is a romantic story which has been inspired by 'Wuthering Heights'. The scenario is set on the teen life of a slave boy who deeply falls in love with his masters' younger daughter. With many of the Indian movies having been made with the same story line, this show is perfect for the local audience. The efforts of the actors and the crew have been well appreciated. The lead actors have a huge fan following. (anasoya)

Charlotte Brontë also celebrates an anniversary in 2016 - it's 200 years since the Jane Eyrenovelist was born on Apr. 21. The Brontë Parsonage Museum in the picturesque Yorkshire village of Haworth, site of the family home, will be the hub of the Brontë Society's celebrations and a major film, The Brontës, is set to tell the story of the famous sisters. (Tim Chester)

Do you have a favourite book now? (Laura Slattery)
In my late teens, I read Wide Sargasso Sea [Jean Rhys’s retelling of Jane Eyre from the point of view of the “mad woman in the attic”] and it just blew me away. It’s so subversive, that book, the way it challenged a story told. I suppose up to that point I had just accepted books or accepted stories, and here was a book saying what has gone before is not the story. It was a long time ago that I read it, but it has made such an impression on me, and it actually comes into one of the stories in my collection.

Because money isn’t an issue for the tragic heroine, “Miss You Already” contains episodes of Milly’s credit card footing a huge bar bill, an impromptu shopping spree and a 250-mile cab ride to the Moors to live out her “Wuthering Heights” fantasies — and have an affair with a ex-bartender. (Gary M. Kramer)

New Republic has one of those articles that clearly show the limitations of big data analysis in literature. Quantifying sentimentality in novels by the vocabulary used is tricky. Is really Wuthering Heights a sentimental novel?

The most telling aspect of the graph is the way the novels of the nineteenth century (labeled “VIC”) represent an altogether different world in terms of sentimentality. These are the novels of Charles Dickens, Mary Shelley, Anthony Trollope, Emily Brontë, and their contemporaries. To give you an idea of what this difference is like, the average amount of sentiment vocabulary in the nineteenth-century novels accounts for just under 7% of all words in a given novel. (Andrew Piper and Richard Jean So)

Also on NRC a review of Dirk Leyman's Lezen, een gebruiksaanwijzing. De wereldliteratuur in vijftig personages, met tekeningen van Brecht Evens gives for a fact that Heathcliff was inspired by some stories of the Pruntys in Ireland: